TIME
by FaithfullyDreaming
Summary: Urban legend of my own. Nothing spectacular, wrote it in Year 9  so I would've been 14 . Enjoy :


The car suddenly stopped. The fuel gauge was down to zero. Julie muttered a violent curse under her breath… Lisa, Julie's best and closest friend, wasn't what you would expect. She had long blonde curly hair, eyes to die for and the face of a young girl not that of a woman in her late-twenties. Bar staff and doormen often made the mistake of thinking she wasn't old enough to buy drinks and go into clubs. She was a straight A student, never had anything below a C+, whereas Julie never seemed to be able to hit them A grades. It was always between a D and a B-. Lisa liked to make time for other people by helping them with their problems, but could never make enough time for herself. You'd find it easier to find a needle in a haystack than find Julie using her common sense.

All of a sudden the skies opened and the rain came hammering down on top of the two-year-old, blue, clean four-by-four Land Rover. From somewhere behind them there came a bright flash of fork lightning closely followed by a terrifyingly loud crash of thunder. Normally storms like these didn't bother the two girls but as the car had just been thrown in to an unexpected deathly silence, it made the girls jump. After less than two minutes it was overhead, it didn't seem to show any signs of clearing up.

Lisa mused that the sky reminded her of a rock concert with the loud, deafening, crashes of thunder being the drums and the bright, forks of lightning like the spectacular lights from a concert. She looked over to her friend and automatically knew she was thinking the same thing.

As they waited for the recovery van to reach them, Lisa grabbed one of her books from the backseat and was so caught up in the book; she was dead to the world. The pitter-pattering ceased as suddenly as it had begun, but it was only Julie who noticed this. She had rung the recovery company earlier, and explained to them what had happened. The person on the other end of the phone just laughed thinking it was all a joke. As the penny dropped, after an unforgettable, lengthy, awkward silence, the guy apologised, but it was only just audible. Julie explained roughly where they were and he said that someone would be with them within the next half hour. They then realised that they were on a rural country lane somewhere in the outskirts of London.

Julie was bored of waiting for the recovery vehicle. Half an hour could be a long time when you're sat in silence doing nothing she thought. So she decided to go for an aimless walk to see if there was a petrol station or garage near by that could help.

"You coming with m– Lisa?" Julie asked questioningly. Lisa had looked up from her book and was as pale as a ghost, her eyes wide with terror. "What's the matter Lisa?"

"Nothing…I thought I saw…no it couldn't off been…could it?"

"What could?"

After a lengthy silence Lisa replied, "Oh, it's nothing. I thought I saw someone over there in the trees but it was just my imagination running wild. You know how I can be when I'm in the middle of a book."

"Right, ok. Do you want to go for a little walk to kill time and see if there is a garage near by that can help?"

"Umm. I'm not sure because the recovery vehicle is coming soon… Isn't it?"

"Hmm. I suppose you're right. You stay here then and I'll go."

"No! You're not leaving me in here on my own!" Lisa replied in astonishment.

"Are you really sure you want to stay in the car on your own when it's dark and stormy outside? The road is so deserted it'd be easier to find someone in a ghost town." retorted Julie.

"Fine I'll come with you," Lisa said reluctantly. She looked at her friend and saw a glint of mischievousness in her eyes. She rolled her eyes as she got out the car.

They'd been walking for over ten minutes uphill, the girls' breathing was becoming heavier and heavier, their steps were becoming shorter and shorter. Just above the horizon, Julie spotted some lights, they were very faint but they were definitely there. She thought about telling Lisa about this but decided against it. They walked on in silence. As they were getting closer the lights were more frequent, by this time Lisa had seen them. When they were three hundred yards or so away, Lisa stopped suddenly. Julie bumped into her and let out a cry of surprise. Lisa turned around and gave her a look, which automatically silenced her. (She for her to come quietly gestured.)?

After walking in the shadows of the trees they came to the mysterious lights, it looked like a campsite. It seemed to be deserted. Then all of a sudden out from behind one of the cars came twenty or so rough looking men in their late thirties, charging down. The two girls stood still like rabbits caught in headlights. Luckily for them the men stopped near the fire and started to talk in hurried, hushed voices. Lisa started to move forward but Julie grabbed her wrist and spun her round. "What do you think you're doing?"

"I'm going to ask them if they can help us." Julie gave her a 'are you mad' look.

"What?"

"Come on Lisa, do you really think that they'd help us. Look at them for a start. We don't know them, it's too risky." Before Lisa could reply Julie had already started to walk away. Lisa was about to follow, if not a bit reluctant. There was a loud crack slicing through the air like a knife. Silence followed. Lisa forced herself to look around to see if anyone had noticed. Unfortunately, everyone was searching with their eyes for the culprit. Only one man, who looked a little crazy and around forty, came into the woods. Lisa was about to turn and run but the man grabbed her wrist, spun her round and their eyes locked. He held her for a few minutes before she snatched her hand away and ran. She shot past Julie who was still confused. Soon, they were running alongside each other, their legs carrying them out of the thick, over-grown forest, their strides getting longer and longer. The girls were running to the beat of their pounding hearts. Thankfully the road was downhill. Lisa dared herself to look behind them and instantly wished that she hadn't; he was following. They reached the top of the mini mountain and were blinded by the light of a car. The driver noticed they were distressed so he stopped to help. Lisa, grateful that someone was there and that they cared, managed to say, "There's…someone…following…us!" Julie was looking round for any signs of the man.

"Lisa he's not there," whispered Julie in her ear. Lisa stared ahead with a look of disbelief and relief on her face. The car driver looked at them questioningly. Lisa tried to say something but nothing came out.

"Thank you for stopping. I'm sure we'll be fine, she's just had a long day, that's all," Julie explained to the driver.

"Ok then, do you need a lift at all? It's not good two young ladies walking round these parts on their own, especially recently with all them strange things happening." Julie gave him a questioning, "You know with that murderer running around." Julie stared at him in horror, but quickly recovered.

"Thank you again but I'm sure we'll be fine."

"Ok if you're sure. Bye." With that the driver drove off.

The two girls started to head back to the car. Back at the car, Lisa grabbed the handle and began to pull, to her surprise it opened straight away. "Didn't you lock the car?"

"I'm sure I did. Why?"

"It wasn't locked," replied Lisa getting into the car. She heard Julie mutter something under her breath but couldn't quite make out what she had said.

There was a gloomy _tap, tap, tap._ Lisa turned around shocked, to see a tall, broad, soaked man looking at her through the window. She jumped thinking it was the man from the camp. But he didn't have the long, zigzag, Harry Potter like scar down the left cheek. Lisa opened the door to speak to the guy (whose name was Rob) and explained what had happened. Within ten minutes the guy was finished, he asked Lisa to open the bonnet so he could check everything was in order. They stepped out of the car and started towards the front. Once the newly painted, dust-covered bonnet was up, Rob whispered in a very low, hushed, husky voice, "I think there's someone, or something in the back of your car."

"We've got our suitcases and bags in the back, that could be it. Thank you anyway," Julie said naively.

"Right ok then. I just thought I should let you know." Now, talking louder, "Right, that's everything."

Lisa smiled and asked, "How much do we owe you then?"

"Oh, umm, don't worry about it. I'd better be off."

"Ok, if you're sure. Bye." As he drove off, the two girls got back into the car. Out of the corner of her big, beautiful, blue eyes Lisa saw something move in the back of the car, she put it down to the light playing tricks on her. As they were driving back to their flat doubts were pushing themselves into her mind. She tried pushing them away but they kept coming back.

By the time they got back to their studio flat in central London, it was 11pm. Julie was completely tired out from all the driving that she'd done, Lisa had offered several times but had always been declined. When they got into their ultra-modern, stylish, well organised, flat Julie went straight into her room. Lisa decided to go out down to the club. She got changed into her brand new, black mini skirt with her new white halter neck top and black and white heels to match. Before she left the flat, she shouted to Julie, "Don't wait up for me, I don't know when I'll be back. Cya later!"

"Ok. Don't stay out too late!" Julie half laughed.

"Shut up you're starting to sound like my mum!" Lisa replied jokingly, with that she left.

It'd been two hours since Lisa had left the flat, she had been partying solid with her friends, she was with that gorgeous 'friend' of hers, she says its nothing more than just good friends but _everyone_ knows that they're going out. _Thud, thud, thud._ Julie looked up from her book startled by the sudden disturbance in the silence. Looking around nervously she shouted, "Lisa is that you?" There was only one reply _thud, thud, thud._ Getting up and cautiously walking to the door, checking it was locked and satisfied with it, Julie started to head back to her room to read again. A groaning noise stopped her in her tracks it filled her ears. Frozen with terror, eyes wide, and her heartbeat pounding within her ears she felt an uneasy feeling wash over her. She didn't know what to do. Should she ring the police? Should she hide? Walking to her room she spotted her brand new, white, Narnia like wardrobe. There was only one thought running through her head. No matter what hide.

As she jumped into the dark, clean, wardrobe, the darkness surrounded her like the arms of a giant beast not wanting to let her go. She could only just hear the gurgling under the sound of her frantic heartbeat. Whatever it was it was coming closer, panicking, Julie could make out a faint scratching noise. Is there a mouse in the wardrobe or was it something else? Not knowing what it was made her feel sick. Something made Julie realise it was coming from outside. Without realising it she was violently shivering. She started worrying about Lisa. What if something happened to her? As the night dragged on, Julie fell into an uneasy, terrifying, nightmare filled dream. She woke with a start. Julie hadn't even realised she had drifted off. Still tired, she heard a rapid knock coming from somewhere in the flat. Had she dreamt it? No. There it was again! She heard a low, stern, voice say, 'Open the door it's the police.' Uncertain of what to do, her head too foggy to think clearly, she slowly reached up for the wardrobe handle and pushed. Everything was as it was the previous night. She crept out and shut the door, finding that her hand was wet. She looked at the door it was covered in dark red, glinting, splattered blood, turning the whiteness of the door into a pink canvas. Horrified, she backed towards the door; the handle was also covered in blood. She almost ran to the front door, which she found locked and bolted. Confused, she found the key and opened the door. The sight shocked her and she staggered back. Lisa's body was draped across the floor. Julie found herself stood in her Nan's living room, twenty years ago.

The room was full of old, tattered, horrible furniture. Everything matched, the floors, the furniture and the curtains. The curtains. The old, dusty, moth-eaten curtains were draped across a chair. She shuddered at the memory. It'd unwillingly popped into her thoughts. Back to what was happening around her, Julie was dumbstruck. She couldn't tear herself away from the sorry sight her friend was in. Her lovely, golden locks caked in blood. Her clothes torn and stained in blood, hanging off her like the leaves of a willow tree. There were blotches of blood where the knife had sliced through her skin. Her eyes and cheeks streaked with tears and smudged with blood.

Someone grabbed hold of her arm and gently pulled her away from the horrifying scene. Although she was being dragged away she couldn't take her eyes off of her only friend she'd known since primary school. Julie was about to turn and leave but before she did she caught a movement in her eye. She pulled away from the firm grip around her wrist and half ran towards her friend. She reached her hand out and checked for a pulse. A couple of seconds passed and she found a very faint pulse. Looking up, she asked the officer, "Has an ambulance been called?"

"Umm…I'm not entirely sure, I'll go and check," he replied.

"Yes you better and if there hasn't been an ambulance rung, you'd better go and do it!" Julie replied shaking with anger. The officer held back in a retort. He turned on his heel and left. "Hold on Lisa, help's coming. I'm so sorry."

Ten minutes later sirens could be heard from outside. Julie was sat with Lisa the whole time not moving an inch.

Two days later Julie was sat at a mate's house, not wanting to go back to the flat alone, as Lisa was still in hospital critically ill. Julie put the TV on, she was flicking through the channels; she got to the BBC news. The headlines read, 'Man Found Guilty For GBH, Wanting To Kill!' Transfixed by what she had read she carried on watching, it turned out to be the rough looking, mad psycho, that had chased them from the woods. His name turned out to be Timothy Isaac Martin Edmunds. Strange name for a strange man, Julie mused. He got an unlimited jail sentence as he had murdered several other young people.

Did Lisa survive or would Julie have to live with guilt of having ignored her best friend while she was dying?


End file.
